Mother admits she drowned autistic son, 4, in bathtub because ‘she was sick of taking care of him’ and was $70,000 in debt after paying for his care

A mother pleaded guilty Thursday to drowning her 4-year-old autistic son in a tub because she was too overwhelmed by the task of taking care of him.

Thirty-six year-old Patricia Corby of San Diego wrapped her son, Daniel, in a blanket after drowning him and put him in the back seat of her SUV, then drove to a police station.

She flagged down an officer and told him she had just killed her son. The officer then spotted the body in the blanket in the back seat of her car. The child was wet and water was foaming around his mouth.

Tears: Corby didn’t show her face in court Thursday but she sounded as if she was sobbing as she pleaded guilty

The child was not breathing and medics were unable to save him. She was later arrested and charged with murder and assault on a child.

According to prosecutor Walter Escobar, Daniel’s autism was the reason his mother killed him. She cared for him at the condominium she shared with the boy’s father, Duane Corby, who had testified that the couple was $70,000 in debt because of the treatment they got for their son.